NATO summit focuses specifically on Black Sea issue

According to TASS news agency (Russia) on July 9, in an interview with Antena-3 TV channel, Deputy Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) Mircea Geoana said that the special highlight at the opening ceremony of the NATO Summit in Washington (USA) will be the Black Sea issue.

“Particular attention will be paid to the Black Sea and the entire Western Balkans region,” NATO Deputy Secretary General said. According to NATO Deputy Secretary General Geoana, Russia has no “intention to carry out a military attack” on NATO, but “will use any other methods.”

Mr Geoana added that the alliance would continue to support Kiev but stressed that "NATO is not and will not become part of the conflict in Ukraine".

Regarding the invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, the Deputy Secretary General of the alliance noted: “If the political moment is right, if Ukraine continues its domestic reforms, then at that time it can become a member of the alliance.”

Washington will send a clear signal to Ukraine about the irreversible progress on the path of Ukraine becoming a member of the Euro-Atlantic family, Geoana added.

From July 9 to 11, NATO leaders will attend the Summit in Washington.

Notably, at the conference, NATO leaders will review the progress of the Defense Production Action Plan agreed at the 2023 Summit held in Vilnius (Lithuania) and may agree on a new commitment to strengthen defense industrial capacity to complement a stronger conventional deterrent.